Found this one while cleaning out the boxes for the move and was very excited. This one tasted great and I don't think that I got around to reviewing it (I didn't). It's got a couple months on it but here goes anyway.
Aroma - Dank, lots of pine hops, some floral notes, spice - 9/12
Appearance - Big, stable head, great golden orange color - 3/3
Flavor - Wheat and pilsner backbone, just a hint of of carmel sweetness and then some spice from the rye, hop flavors are primarily pine, again some spicy floral notes towards the end, pervasive hop bitterness that picks up towards the finish and drags into the aftertaste, some citrus notes and pepper on the back end - 16/20
Mouthfeel - Moderately full, creamy, perfect carbonation - 4/5
Overall - 8/10
Total - 40/50
This is really good (trying to be conservative on the scoring). Tons of hop bitterness but not overly so despite the calculated, unachievable 304 IBUs. The aroma is nice and the hop flavors are pleasant. Tastes more like an APA than a huge IPA. Some of this is probably due to the age on it and the pilsner / wheat backbone. Would really like to try this one fresh again.
I like the spice from the touch of rye in here. Would probably decrease the wheat:pilsner ratio just a bit next time to make it a little more like a traditional IPA. Also would throw in some oats for some fuller goodness and change the dry hops to something a little more aromatic. The distilled water worked well, none of those off flavors that had been plaguing the process here.
Smoked stout tasting on Monday...
